Obama not to attend APEC summit in Vladivostok in September 2012

May 14, 2012, 22:08 UTC+3The Democratic National Convention will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, at about the same time on September 3-6

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WASHINGTON, May 14 (Itar-Tass) —— U.S. President Barack Obama will not attend the upcoming APEC summit in Vladivostok in September of this year, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said aboard Air Force One on Monday, May 14.

According to the official APEC schedule for this year, the summit in Vladivostok will take place on September 2-9. The Democratic National Convention will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, at about the same time on September 3-6. The convention will officially nominate Obama as he Democratic Party’s presidential candidate.

Carney stressed that “the President spoke with President Putin and will be meeting with President Putin at the G20 in Mexico and looks very much forward to that. The fact of the matter is we have a comprehensive relationship with Russia that's built on working together in areas where we agree and that has borne significant successes, that approach, and then be very clear about where we disagree but not letting those disagreements undermine the overall relationship.”

“That was true under President Medvedev when Vladimir Putin was prime minister, and it will continue to be true now that Mr. Putin has returned to the presidency and Mr. Medvedev is now prime minister,” he said.

The press service of the National Security Council confirmed to Itar-Tass that Carney’s remarks about Obama’s skipping the APEC summit in Vladivostok was not news.

Its officials recalled Obama’s conversation with Medvedev at the nuclear security summit in Seoul in March of this year when the Russian leader invited Obama to come to St. Petersburg on his behalf and on behalf of Putin who was president-elect at that time.

Obama wished Putin all the best and said he would like to travel to St. Petersburg but made it clear that his next trip to Russia would take place after his re-election.